No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 249 



of this law, who aio on the liriii}^ line, to make a report to some of 

 yon who perhaps do not know what it is (o be nnder fire. From the 

 first of January, lOOO, to tlie lirst of July, 190], we have been enforc- 

 ing pure food laws. The oleomargarine law is only one of a number 

 that Ave have had to enforce. All the laws which the Department 

 has to enforce are embodied in this bulletin and it will be sent free 

 of cost to any one who desires it. In the enforcement of the oleo- 

 margarine law, during the past eighteen months, there were analyzed 

 by our chemist, 1,402 samjilos of oleomargarine. There were, per- 

 haps, 3,000 or more sami)les taken. A large number were found 

 by the primary test, not to be oleomargarine. All the figures will 

 come out in the bulletin. There, have been a total of 3,019 analvses 

 in the eighteen months. I will venture, that not three States in the 

 Union, taken together, can match that in the way of analyses. 



In the matter of prosecutions, immediately upon receipt of the 

 analysis from the chemist, we institute suit, if the case is a good 

 one, one in wdiich the chemist can come on the witness stand, and 

 swear that the goods are adulterated. We have had 1,159 oleomar- 

 garine suits. Many of you who have had one suit, have spent a lot 

 of money, and had all sorts of delays. It takes a man with pretty 

 good digestion and a clear conscience, to fight in this way, day in and 

 day out. Our Dairy and Food Commissioner, is an active man. 

 There are a lot of people engaged in the enforcement of this law, 

 and they are, without exception, honorable, straightforw-ard men, so 

 far as we know, and we have many tests of the honesty and integrity 

 of our agents and attorneys; tests that they know nothing about, 

 but which satisfy us that these men are doing their work to the best 

 of their ability, and under great discouragement at times. 



Now then, what is the result? It is fairlv satisfactorv all over 

 Pennsylvania, with the exception of Allegheny and Pittsburg. There 

 we have come up against a peculiar sentiment that has been very diffi- 

 cult to deal with. A year ago we reported that a large number of 

 people in Pittsburg had been arraigned. We have been endeavoring 

 to get these people before the courts, but you know the methods 

 taken to bring about delay. We have, however, brought 394 of them 

 before the court in criminal suits. In every one the proof was ab- 

 solute. Our chemist and agent appeared before the grand jury. 

 They gave an account of every one of the 394 suits, but the grand 

 jury ignored every bill; and, it did more than that, it put the costs 

 on us, or it put the costs on our agent, not on the State, on our 

 agent as an individual. I have the papers here, that show the pro- 

 test that was made by the Dairy and Food Commissioner, against 

 that action of the grand jury, and the petition to the court asking the 

 judge to resubmit these cases to the grand jury, on the ground that 

 the evidence was conclusive, and the verdict not in accordance with 

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